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How Nelson Doubleday Jr. Helped Build the Best Roster in Mets History

Former owner’s moves helped change the franchise from the bottom up, turning it into a world champion

By

Michael Salfino

Updated June 19, 2015 3:49 p.m. ET

Nelson Doubleday Jr., who passed away Wednesday night at age 81, will forever be remembered by Mets fans for quickly turning a floundering franchise into a world champion a little more than six years after assuming ownership.

When Doubleday bought a 95% stake in the Mets in 1980, Shea Stadium was nicknamed “Grant’s Tomb” for the cavernous emptiness marked the tenure of former chairman M. Donald Grant. So the then-record price of $21.1 million that Doubleday paid through his book-publishing company shocked the sports...